Barbers and Hairdressers

The use of mechanical cutting instruments, such as scissors and hair trimmers, not infrequently causes the appearance of well-delimited hyperkeratotic lesions in areas of friction, such as the inner lateral aspects of the first, second and even third fingers (handling of scissors) of the dominant hand. These lesions tend to be disregarded by physicians and patients alike and are discovered only when the patients hands are examined in detail, since they do not tend to impair dexterity at work. They can be compared to other professional stigmata (fiddlers callosities, etc.). 

The first report of a pilonidal cyst was made in 1847 by Anderson, who described his finding of a hair in a 

Kanerva et al. (ed.). Handbook of Occupational Dermatology Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2000 

Penetration of hair fragments in the dermis is facilitated by several physical and mechanical factors and leads to a reactive epithelial proliferation, which causes an epidermal invagination to surround the hair (Fig. 2). Hair fragments not surrounded by epithelium cause a 

The clinical appearance, symptoms and histopatho-logical findings in barbers show a chronologic sequence and correlation. Most cases of penetration in the skin are not associated with granuloma or fistula and resolve spontaneously. 

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